Trusting Soul
by iloveromance
Summary: Annoyed at the thought of going to an overpriced gourmet grocery store in order to please the elder Dr. Crane, Daphne can hardly wait to get home. But before she can leave the parking lot, she is involved in a situation that frightens her in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It seems those uncomfortable situations that happen to me never fail to lead to a story so here is yet another. And fortunately this story is a bit more drastic than my experience! As always thank you for reading and comments are always appreciated!**

As the checker totaled the sale, Daphne cringed at the amount. Try as she might, she would never understand why Dr. Crane insisted on sending her to the outrageously expensive Elliot Bay Marketplace when there was a perfectly respectable Food Mart less than three miles away.

To Daphne it was worth the extra gas to save what could easily be over one hundred dollars on things they used every day. But Dr. Crane would have none of it, saying that he wouldn't dare set foot in such a store where paper towels were sold three for a dollar.

One day she'd gotten so fed up with his constant complaining that no one in their right mind would shop in a store that didn't carry imported caviar, she'd snatched the shopping list from his hand.

Against his wishes, she'd driven right past the Elliot Bay Marketplace and headed straight for the Food Mart. And an hour later she emerged with a shopping cart filled with groceries, along with a receipt that showed how much money she'd saved; a whopping ninety seven dollars and eighty cents. Proudly she drove home and unloaded the groceries, smiling with satisfaction as she showed Dr. Crane the receipt.

It was a mistake she never made again.

Frasier tore into her from all angles, yelling so loudly and in so many words that she didn't understand that Mr. Crane was forced to intervene. But Frasier was relentless, even threatening to fire her on the spot. If it weren't for Mr. Crane and the fact that he was Frasier's father, she was sure she'd be out on the streets.

Now she stood at the check stand, reaching into her wallet for the cash that Frasier had provided. She could feel her hand trembling as the cashier took the two crisp one hundred dollar bills and gave Daphne her change. The amount left over was barely enough for a cup of herbal tea at Café Nervosa.

Outrageous.

She was more than happy to take her shopping cart and head for the car. The sooner she got away from this dreadful store the better. People who shopped here were much too snobby for her tastes; even more so than Dr. Crane and his brother.

Her car was parked in a much coveted spot only three aisles away from the entrance and she smiled to herself wishing that Dr. Crane could see how well she'd done. Perhaps then he would forgive her for _sorely disappointing_ him as he so hurtfully put it.

But it didn't matter now. Determined to put that awful scenario behind her she vowed to make amends. From now on she'd shop exclusively at the Elliot Bay Marketplace. It wasn't worth risking her job over something so trivial. And they had pretty much the same items, even if they did cost twice as much.

She was just putting the last bags into her car when she noticed a figure approaching her. "Hello." She said to the strange looking man. "If you want this parking space it's yours. I was just about to leave."

But he moved closer, causing her a bit of unease. "Is something wrong?"  
He began speaking incoherently gesturing with his hands.

"I'm sorry; I don't understand what you're saying."

He repeated the garble of words, again gesturing with his hands.

"Oh... well, all right. Yes." She said for lack of anything else to say. Perhaps it would satisfy him enough to make him leave.

But instead it had the opposite affect.

He moved closer and stared into her eyes. "Can I help you with something?"

Again he repeated the phrase from before. And then to her horror, he walked over to the passenger side of the car and pulled on the door handle. Unfortunately at that moment, she remembered that she'd used the remote on her keys to unlock the doors, therefore leaving them all unlocked. Before she could react, the man opened the door and climbed into the car.

"Wait, what are you doing? Get out of here! This is my car, not yours! Get out!" She screamed as her heart raced. God what was happening?

But the man wouldn't budge. Knowing it was wrong; she went around to the passenger side and opened the door, tugging on the man's clothes. He was bound to have a knife or worse, but she simply had to get him away from her car. The man finally relented, letting himself be tossed out of the car, but not before he'd made off with every bag in her backseat. The fact that her purse was securely around her body was of little comfort.

"Go on! Get out of here!" She screamed, her body trembling as the horrible reality of what he'd done sank in.

And then she returned to her car, glancing into the empty backseat as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Once Dr. Crane noticed that she'd come home empty handed and with little money in her possession, she'd be out on the streets for sure. And she was afraid that even Mr. Crane would have no sympathy for her this time, choosing to side with his eldest son.

For family was stronger than any bond.


	2. Chapter 2

She drove home in a daze, barely aware of where she was headed. And when she pulled into the Elliot Bay Towers parking garage, she became increasingly more nervous. Her chest felt so heavy that she could hardly breathe. She wasn't sure which was worse, the fact that Frasier would be absolutely livid when he saw her or the memory of that horrible man who invaded her privacy.

How could she have been so stupid, taking her life into her hands in an effort to fight off an intruder? She should have known better! There were a million other things she could have done; the most important option being to call 911.

Because Mr. Crane was a retired Seattle police officer, Daphne knew that a phone call would have given her priority. Sure it was unfair to the other citizens of Seattle, but when it came to matters of safety she knew that Mr. Crane would have ordered police protection for her immediately.

But no, she had to do something completely stupid. She'd never done anything like this before, ever! She'd always been such a strong person who stood up for herself and even her brothers were impressed with how confident she was. She took nothing from no one...

Until now...

Her heart clinching against her chest, she turned off the ignition and leaned her head against the steering wheel as she began to cry.

Minutes later as her tears dissolved into one big ache, she wearily climbed out of the car dismayed when the worry crept into her chest. How could she possibly explain any of this to Dr. and Mr. Crane? She couldn't tell them what she had done.

To admit that she'd been a fool would certainly bring lectures of epic proportions from both men; each with a different perspective: Mr. Crane's lecture would focus on the importance of safety and the endless questions about the man's appearance, his mannerisms and a dozen other inquires. And then there was bound to be a string of shouting about how she should have used better judgment in dealing with strangers. She could have been hurt, or killed... or worse.

The thought made her shudder.

And then there was Dr. Crane's lecture; the one that would focus on ethics and doing the right thing. No doubt he would bring up the fact that she had betrayed him before by going to a less than suitable store.

But both men were right... and the unspoken truth hurt worse than any lie she could have fabricated.

There was nothing she could do about it anyway. What was done was done and she might as well face the music.

With a heavy sigh, she entered the lobby; her stride casual. She entered the elevator giving little thought to what lie ahead. Perhaps Frasier wouldn't notice or better yet, wouldn't be home. But considering that his BMW was parked prominently in his coveted parking space, the idea that he wouldn't be home was just a foolish dream.

Daphne willed her anxiety away, but the higher the elevator carried her, the more difficult it became. And suddenly the doors opened revealing the nineteenth floor.

She took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway, her hand trembling as she fumbled in her purse for her keys. And finally the door was opened.

There was no going back now.


End file.
